Chronicles of the NSF DivisionA of Arctic SciencesRCTIC Spring 2012, Volume 16 Number 2 In this Issue Study of Environmental Arctic Change (pgs 2-8) Science Education News (pgs 21) • Community Input Into SEARCH 5-Year Goals and • Arctic Visiting Speakers Program Objectives • SEARCH Encourages Proposals to the Arctic Science, Science Policy News (pgs 22-23) Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (ArcSEES) • Arctic Forum 2012 Opportunity • 2012 Sea Ice Outlook and Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook National Science Foundation News (pg 24) Launched • New Funding Opportunity Released: Arctic Science, • Early-Release Data on Ice Thickness, Snow Depth, and Engineering, and Education for Sustainability Ice Characteristics (ArcSEES) • U.S. Arctic Observing Coordination Workshop Held in March Interagency News (pgs 25-26) • Arctic Observing Network Design and Implementation • Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee Workshop Planned (IARPC) Releases Draft Arctic Research Plan for Review and Comment Arctic Natural Sciences Program (pgs 9-11) • Alaskan North Slope Snow LiDAR Campaign: U.S. Arctic Research Commission (pgs 27-28) SnowSTAR-2012 • U.S. and Canadian Arctic Commissions Establish Collaborative Path Forward Arctic Social Sciences Program (pgs 12-17) • The Value of Ethnography in Times of Change: The Polar Research Board (pg 29-31) Story of Emmonak • Polar Research Board Releases Report on Lessons and • Ice Age Child: Earliest Human Remains and Residential Legacies of International Polar Year 2007-2008 Structure in Northern North America International News (pg 32) Arctic Research Support and Logistics (pgs 18-19) • International Polar Foundation Symposium Identifies • EarthScope’s Transportable Array Plans Deployment in Key Needs for the Arctic Alaska Beginning Late 2013 A Note From the ARCUS Executive Director (pg 33) Data Management (pg 20) • ARCUS Update • Advanced Cooperative Arctic Data and Information Service (ACADIS) Update A Note from the ARCUS President (pg 34) • The Age of the Arctic Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • [email protected] Interagency Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) Community Input Into SEARCH 5-Year Goals and Objectives In April, the SEARCH Science Steering Committee (SSC) (http://www.arcus.org/search /sciencecoordination/ssccommittee.php) released a set of draft 5-year goals and objectives for review by the broader arctic science community. The goals and objectives will direct the SEARCH program in the next five years. They are not intended to represent all of the science questions important for SEARCH, but have been selected as shorter-term priorities that are ready for implementation. Study of Environmental Arctic The draft SEARCH goals focus on four areas: ice-diminished Arctic Ocean, warming permafrost, Change land ice and sea level, and societal and policy implications. Together, the goals will provide significant insight into arctic system change as a whole. The SEARCH SSC has reviewed the community input and is currently revising the goals, which will be released in their revised form via ArcticInfo and through the SEARCH website. The SEARCH SSC will then be working closely with agency representatives on a plan to implement the goals through research opportunities and community activities. For more information on the draft goals and additional background information, go to: http://www.arcus.org/search/goals or contact Helen Wiggins, ARCUS, at [email protected]. Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • [email protected] Interagency Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) SEARCH Encourages Proposals to the Arctic Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (ArcSEES) Opportunity The SEARCH and International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC) (http://www.arcticchange.org/) steering groups released a "Dear Colleague" letter to encourage SEARCH and ISAC-relevant proposals to the recent NSF solicitation on Arctic Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (ArcSEES (http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12553 /nsf12553.htm), see funding article (http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2012/2/article/19147) in this issue of Witness). The Dear Colleague letter highlights three reports that may be useful in linking proposal topics to identified priorities from the science community. The NSF ArcSEES solicitation presents an excellent opportunity to propose projects that implement ideas developed by the broad SEARCH and ISAC communities that are relevant to sustainability issues in the Arctic. The Dear Colleague letter and relevant reports are available at: http://www.arcus.org/search/searchscience/arcsees. Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • [email protected] Interagency Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) 2012 Sea Ice Outlook and Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook Launched The first Sea Ice Outlook reports for 2012 have been released. The SEARCH Sea Ice Outlook (http://www.arcus.org /search/seaiceoutlook/index.php) produces monthly reports throughout the summer that synthesize projections of the expected sea ice minimum at both pan-arctic and regional scales. The June Pan-Arctic Summary, Pan-Arctic Full Outlook, and Regional Outlook are available at: http://www.arcus.org/search/seaiceoutlook/2012/june. With 19 responses for the Pan-Arctic Outlook, the June Sea Ice Outlook projects a September 2012 arctic sea extent median value of 4.4 million square kilometers, with quartiles of 4.3 and 4.7 million square kilometers. This compares to observed September values of 4.6 in 2011, 4.9 in 2010, and 5.4 in 2009. Both the 2012 quartile values and the range (4.1–4.9) are quite narrow. The 2012 June Outlook differs from all previous Outlooks in that there are no projections of extent greater than 5.0. It is always important to note for context that all 2012 estimates are well below the 1979-2007 September mean of 6.7 million square kilometers. Individual responses are based on a range of methods: statistical, numerical models, comparison with previous rates of sea ice loss, composites of several approaches, estimates based on various non-sea ice datasets and trends, and subjective information. The consensus is for a continued downward trend of September sea ice. It seems that the time may have come to declare that the arctic sea ice has in fact reached a "New Normal." The physical justification for this statement is based primarily on the loss of old, thick sea ice and the increased mobility of sea ice. An expanded discussion Distribution of individual Pan-Arctic Outlook values (June Report) for September 2012 sea ice of sea ice age and thickness is included in extent. this month's full report, which includes new sea ice thickness data from NASA IceBridge (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/icebridge/index.html) aircraft flights in March-April 2012. In addition to the Pan-Arctic Outlooks, there were six contributions to the June Regional Outlook report. The regional outlooks shed light on the uncertainties associated with the estimates in the Pan-Arctic Outlook by providing more detail at the regional scale, including: the Northwest Passage and Hudson Bay/Hudson Strait shipping routes, Beaufort/Chukchi Seas, the Canadian Archipelago/Nares Strait, and Barents/Greenland Seas. The 2012 Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO) (http://www.arcus.org/search/siwo) was launched in early April and provides online reports for use by Alaska Native subsistence hunters, coastal communities, and others interested in sea ice and walrus. The weekly SIWO reports integrate local observations, satellite imagery, and sea ice and weather forecasts. SIWO is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (http://www.noaa.gov/) and NSF and organized by NOAA’s National Weather Service (http://weather.gov/), the University of Alaska (http://www.gi.alaska.edu/), ARCUS, and the Eskimo Walrus Commission (http://www.kawerak.org/servicedivisions /nrd/ewc/index.html), with significant contributions from Alaska Native sea ice and walrus experts. Plans are underway to expand both the Sea Ice Outlook and Sea Ice for Walrus for 2013; please contact Helen Wiggins, ARCUS ([email protected]), with any ideas for future improvements for either project. For more information about the Sea Ice Outlook and to see the June reports, go to: http://www.arcus.org/search /seaiceoutlook/index.php. For more information about the Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook and to see the latest weekly report, go to: http://www.arcus.org /search/siwo. Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • [email protected] Interagency Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) Early-Release Data on Ice Thickness, Snow Depth, and Ice Characteristics A new webpage developed through SEARCH provides access to early-release datasets on ice thickness, snow depth, and ice characteristics collected in March/April of 2012 in the North American Arctic. The webpage is available at: http://www.arcus.org/search/seaiceoutlook/ice-thickness-data. Data were obtained by different projects, centering around the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Operation IceBridge (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/icebridge/index.html) survey flights, with key contributions from NSF-funded activities of the interagency Arctic Observing Network